Wilmington police are looking for a suspect in connection with the shooting death of a 17-year-old last weekend.

By Veronica GonzalezVeronica.Gonzalez@StarNewsOnline.com

When Christopher Cromartie Jr. rushed to help a 17-year-old who had been shot in the mouth, his only concern was to slow the bleeding. So he applied pressure to the right side of Tyshawn Gause’s face where his cheek had swollen to the size of a tennis ball.Cromartie was riding his bike late Saturday night on Red Cross Street near North Eighth when he heard four gunshots and then saw Gause fall to the ground as he struggled to walk.The 19-year-old said he caught Gause from falling headfirst into a concrete wall next to the sidewalk where Gause was shot just before midnight Saturday.But something else caught Cromartie’s eye.A dark blue, four-door Dodge Intrepid with a sunroof, tinted windows and a silver chrome license plate frame. Cromartie said Wednesday the man he believes shot Gause was hanging out of the back seat of the car on McRae Street next to North Eighth where Gause had been shot. Three other people were in the car, he said. Cromartie, who said he saw the car drive away, said the man looked to be in his 30s with short-cropped curly hair and light-colored skin.Gause died on Sunday. On Wednesday, Wilmington police released the name of a suspect wanted in connection with Gause’s shooting: Leroy Bernard Sampson Jr., a 32-year-old previously convicted of drug possession, violating protective orders and forgery. Arrest warrants have been issued for Sampson on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, police said.Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to Sampson’s arrest, and anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call 343-3600.Cromartie won’t forget that night. He said he heard what sounded like fireworks while he was getting something to eat at a nearby corner store. Next thing he knew, he dumped his bicycle to help Gause, who was alone. “I told him to calm down. Everything was going to be alright,” Cromartie said, adding he put Gause’s arm around his shoulder to help him walk to a spot where he could sit down. Cromartie said he saw the Dodge Intrepid stop at the intersection of Red Cross and McRae, and he heard voices from inside the car saying, “We got one! We got one.” A crowd gathered around Cromartie when he was helping Gause, who told people around him to go and tell his mother, who lives on McRae.“I was hoping he was alright,” Cromartie said. “The ambulance said his vitals were OK.”When Cromartie found out Gause died, he was stunned.“It just upsets me to know if somebody knows something, they should come out instead of hiding,” he said. “If you know you did it, turn yourself in.”Tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-531-9845 or through Text a Tip, which is done by sending Tip708 and an anonymous message to CRIMES, which is 274637.